The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference has rejected calls for Chief Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie to resign over remarks he made during visits to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) and the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF).
The Conference described the calls as disproportionate, although it acknowledged that some of the Chief Justice’s comments could raise concerns about the appearance of judicial impartiality.
In a statement issued on Sunday, September 6, the Bishops said there was nothing improper about the Chief Justice visiting public institutions, assessing their operations or commending improvements in their performance.
However, it said concern arose from the political character that some of his remarks, particularly his reference to the “past eight years”, could reasonably be perceived to have acquired.
“In our national context, such a phrase is readily heard as a comparison between the present administration and its predecessor,” the Conference said.
According to the Bishops, what may have begun as a straightforward assessment of institutional performance “thus took on, at least in appearance, the character of a partisan judgment.”
The Conference noted that the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) had similarly raised concerns that the remarks could create an impression of political endorsement and undermine public confidence in judicial impartiality.
It nevertheless said it had taken note of a clarification from the Judicial Service that the Chief Justice’s observations were made in good faith and without any intention of compromising judicial independence.
The Judicial Service, it added, had reaffirmed the Chief Justice’s commitment to the integrity of the Judiciary and the principle of equality before the law.
“We receive that clarification in good faith,” the Bishops said.
The Conference, however, stressed that the controversy raised important questions about judicial ethics and public trust.
It said the Chief Justice occupied a unique position because the courts could be called upon to adjudicate disputes involving the government, political parties and public institutions.
“Judicial independence is not only a matter of actual impartiality; it also depends on the visible, unmistakable appearance of impartiality,” the statement said.
Despite these concerns, the Bishops said the remarks did not constitute evidence that the Chief Justice was partisan or that the Judiciary had been compromised.
“Such conclusions would go well beyond the evidence available to us, and calls for his resignation on this basis alone strike us as disproportionate to the offence,” they said.
The Conference said the Chief Justice, like any citizen, was entitled to his own convictions but stressed that his public conduct should avoid creating reasonable doubts about his impartiality.
It suggested that the Chief Justice could have commended the achievements of SSNIT and MIIF on their own merits without comparing the records of the current administration with those of its predecessor.
The Bishops also appealed to both the governing party and the opposition to exercise restraint in their reactions to the controversy.
“The governing party ought not to treat criticism of the Chief Justice as an attack on its own record, nor should the opposition treat his remarks as proof that the courts have been captured,” the statement said.
The Conference urged all public office holders to uphold the same standard of restraint, regardless of which political party is in government.